Cuts ‘will perpetuate two-tier school system’

THE Government has been warned of further education cuts widening a gap in a two-tier school system which Sinn Féin claims benefits wealthier families at the expense of students from poorer backgrounds.

The party was responding to the publication of league tables of college progression that showed students at fee-paying schools are far more likely to have secured a place in a third-level college this year.

The tables combine information supplied to colleges from the Central Applications Office (CAO) about the school of origin of new entrants with State Examinations Commission figures for numbers sitting the Leaving Certificate in each school.